The final chapter
by Lacey99
Summary: What could happen when NCIS returns in the fall...


**Harm's apartment, San Diego, California**

Mac's eyes fluttered open and she looked around. She had a strange dream about being on a ship at sea, but she was still in Harm's apartment. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The door leading from the bedroom to a terrace was open and she could see him sipping his coffee and looking out over the ocean. They had met at a bar last night along with the NCIS team that they had worked with two weeks ago. Harm had taken his mid-tour leave and she had been surprised to see him. Of course, Hetty had deliberately left out the information when she'd called to ask if Mac would fly out and celebrate the mission with them. Harm had been happy to see her, and they'd had a good time. As the party was breaking up, he had whispered in her ear to walk out with him. After making sure that either of them was in relationships he asked her to come with him to San Diego and stay with him. She saw no reason not to do it, so she had brought her bag, canceled her reservation at the hotel and gotten into his car. It had been late in the night by the time they arrived at his place. He had asked her to feel like home. One thing led to another and they had ended up in bed together. It was the one thing that always worked in their relationship.

She got out of bed and found his shirt on the floor and slipped it on before using the bathroom, brushing her teeth and freshening up a little. She padded across the floor and stepped out on the terrace.

"Good morning," he turned towards her.

"Hi," she leaned in and kissed him softly, motioning for the mug he held. "Is that coffee?"

He chuckled and handed it to her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," she sipped the coffee. "I always do when I'm with you it seems."

He smiled. "You're just as beautiful as you always were, Mac."

"Thanks," she hesitated. "How long are you in town for?"

"One week," he leaned on the railing. "I decided that after all the action it would be nice with a quiet week. I was going to call you."

"Yeah?" she didn't look convinced.

"I wanted to see you, not just on the screen with people watching," he shrugged. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," she admitted. "It's been nine years but missing you doesn't go away."

"Explain to me again why we decided to be apart?" he requested.

She shrugged. "I have no idea."

He chuckled.

"Have you seen your mother?" Mac wondered.

"I was mostly concentrating on seeing you," he admitted with a smirk. "I'll go over there today. You should come. That way she'll be happy and not give me a hard time about my choices."

Mac looked amused. "She's just worried about you, Harm. You should appreciate that. And she's been lonely since Frank died."

He nodded. "I know. I didn't make it to the funeral because we were across the world doing sharp maneuvers."

"She understood," Mac reminded him.

"Yeah," he didn't look convinced. "You were there."

"Of course," Mac leaned on the railing beside him. "Mattie and I stayed for a week."

"I should have been there for everyone," he hesitated and let out a sigh, reaching out and rubbing her back softly.

"Your crew needed you more," Mac pointed out as she leaned into his touch. Nine years had passed but the familiarity of the situation was still as present as the mug she held in her hand. They had been good together the times they actually made them a priority.

"Yeah, you understand that, but sometimes even I question that reasoning," he shrugged. "I took emergency leave the second the maneuver was over."

"I know. You wrote it in your email," she ran her hand through his short hair. "You're not a bad son, Harm."

"What about fiancé?" he wondered.

She hesitated. "You tried. I wouldn't let you."

"You had two miscarriages in a year, I could have tried harder," he pointed out.

"No, I should have let you be there instead of working more," she leaned in and buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry."

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm sorry too."

"I'd like to try again," she whispered. "If we can be together for real the times we can, maybe that is enough."

"Yeah, I'd like that," he waited for her to lean back and look at him before he leaned in and kissed her softly. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," she smiled and rubbed her nose to his.

"I'm making us breakfast," he kissed her again.

**Saturday night**

Harm rested his cheek on her shoulder and let out a contented sigh. They had spent the day with his mother who had been thrilled about seeing them together. After dinner Harm had suggested a walk on the beach and they had ended up sitting down and watching the ocean. They had done that a lot over the years, sitting just like this.

"Remember that secluded beach in Fiji?" he asked suddenly.

She laughed softly and blushed slightly. "Oh yeah."

"That was some beach," he kissed the place where her shoulder became her neck.

"Fiji was great," she remembered. "Two weeks of just being us. No Navy or Marine Corps, no duty first… We were happy then."

"Yeah, we were," he pulled her even closer. "We were getting back to being us after all the struggles of trying to get pregnant."

"It was a relief the day we decided to stop," she admitted.

"Yeah," he agreed. "We could have adopted."

"We could, but we were too busy building careers," she reminded him. "With a kid, we'd have to slow down and neither of us wanted that."

"All true," he agreed.

"I have to leave tomorrow," she reminded him.

"Take the week off," he suggested.

"I guess I could. It's been a long time since I had time off," she hesitated. "I have to move some things around."

"I'd really like it if you stayed," he kissed her cheek. "Or if you can't, I'll go to D.C with you."

"I'll make some calls," she promised and turned her head to look at him. "What do we do for a week?"

He thought about it. "Let's get married?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Let's get married?" he repeated. "We postponed it for five years, then nine more years… Let's just do it."

She turned in his arms. "You want to get married?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Can we get it together that fast?" she wondered.

"Why not? We need a marriage certificate, a location…" he reached for his phone.

"Someone to officiate," she added. "Witnesses."

Harm had already dialed a number. "It's Harm. I need a favor. Can you arrange for a marriage certificate? Now. Yes, I'm getting married now." He gave all the information whomever he was talking to needed and hung up. "That was my buddy, Murry down at the courthouse. I helped him with some legal issues. I figure he could pay me back now."

"Just like that?" she looked skeptical.

"He'll have it for me by tomorrow morning," Harm smiled. "So, what's next?"

"Hetty," Mac reached for her phone. "Hi, it's Mac. Listen, Harm and I are getting married. Can you officiate? Tomorrow? Can you also find us some witnesses? Great. Bye."

"Hetty?" Harm chuckled. "Okay, so we get married tomorrow. Where?"

"Here," Mac suggested.

Harm nodded. "Okay."

"Your mom has my dress," Mac started to stand. "I better go back to her house and see if it still fits."

"My mother?" Harm stood too.

"Yeah, we bought it for when we were getting married the last time," Mac explained as he took her hand.

"I see," Harm tugged on her hand to make her stop. "Hey Mac, I love you," he cupped her face.

"I love you too, Harm," she kissed him softly.

**Sunday night**

Harm laughed as Mac tried to open the door to his apartment while he was holding her. Finally, the door opened, and he could carry her over the threshold.

"So, Mrs. Rabb," he put her down. "We need to plan the honeymoon."

"We planned a wedding in a day, think of what we can manage with a week?" she leaned in and kissed him. "I need to get out of this dress. Wanna help?"

He smirked. "Mac, if I ever say no to that, you can just take your gun and shoot me," he moved his arms around her and kissed her deeply.


End file.
